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SNBORTON 50.5. WILLOOX. MAGHINE'FOR SEWING WELTS 0R HEMS 0N FABRICS. No. 255.575.

(Model) Patented Mar. 28,1882.

6. 6. met/55mm j UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE.

STOCKTON BORTON, OF PHILADELPHIA,PENNSYLVANIA, AND CHARLES H.

WILLGOX, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNORS TO THE WILLGOX 85 GIBBS SEWING MACHINE COMPANY, OENEWXORK, N. Y.

MACHINE FOR SEWING WELTS OR HEMS O N FABRIC'S.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 255,576, dated March 28, 1882,

Application filed July 8, 1881. (ModeL) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, S'rooK'roN BORTON, of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, andCnARLEs HENRY WILL- Cox, of New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machinery for Sewing Welts or Hems on Knit Goods or other Fabrics, which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification.

This invention has reference more particularly to devices for enabling a welt or hem to be sewed upon knit goods with great rapidity and regularity by means of an ordinary scwing-machine with trimming attachment, so that the seam is visible only on one side of the goods; but it is also applicable to the sewing of welts or hems upon other goods, and to the formation of other scams, and may be employed in part independently of trimming mechanism.

In cut hose and other knit goods, in the manufacture of which it is desired to avoid the labor and expense of unitin g the hem to the body of the goods loop by loop,'as in the so-called regular-madegoods,ithasheretoforebeencustomary, after folding the welt or hem, to run the goods through a sewing-machine and make a seam visible on both sides of the fabric at such a distance from the edge as to prevent ravel- 3o ing. It has been found that by folding the main body of the goods on the line wherethe seam was to be made, and sewing through the hem and the thickness of the folded edge'aud.

trimmingclose to the line ofstitching, acloselytrimmed welt or hem with the seam visible on one side only of the fabric can be produced. This welt or hem approximates in appearance andconifort the welts or hems of regular-made goods without requiring a tithe of, the labor 0 and expense in its production, and it is to. the manufacture of said welt or hem that the present invention has particular reference.

The present invention consists in the method of "hemming or welting fabrics by folding the 4 5 fabricautomatically-tie,mechanically-guiding the folded fabric to sewing mechanism,

and simultaneously sewing and trimming the hem or welt, and also in themechanical devices for guiding the goods to be hemmed 0r welted to the sewing and trimming ,mecham ism, and for holding the same in position to be acted upon by said mechanism. An edgeguide is arranged between the line of stitch ing and theline of trimming, so that the folded edge is guided to the needle, while the margin, of the hem extending beyond the guiding-edge is cut ofi by the trimmer.

The edge-guide is made adjustable toward and away from the needle to regulate the distance of the seam from the folded edge in accordance with the thickness of the goods. It

is preferably secn red to the cloth-plate of the fabric the guiding-edge should be adjusted.

nearly or quite to the axis of the needle,,it is notched for the passage of the needle. The

folded edge, on account of the elasticity of the goods, willmoreover spring somewhatinto the notch, so as to be pierced by the needle,

even when the guiding-edge is in line with its point. Itis found advantageous, also, to have the guiding-edge in advance of the needle oblique to the line of feed, so as to crowd the fold somewhat on its way to the needle.

Heretofore guides of various kinds have been devised for use on sewing-machines; but none, so far as we areaware, are adapted to the purposes of this invention. The novelty of this portion of theinvention resides in spev cial combinations of the edge-guide with the stitching and trimming mechanism, and with;

the presser-foot and other elements of a sewlug-machine or combined sewing and trimming machine, and also in the peculiar construction of the edge-guide itself.

The marginot'the hem which is to be trimmed off is clamped during the cutting operation by a holding-finger that is raised and lowered with the presser-foot. Such a holding-finger has heretofore been used by us, and is described and claimed in our application for improvement in trimmers for sewing-machines, filed October 14, 1880. In that case, however, the holding-finger is connected permanently with the presser-foot. being preferably made in one piece with it. In the presentinvention the holding-finger is made adjustable with reference to the presser-foot. This is done so that the holding-finger may properly clamp both thick and thin goods, for since in making a welt or hem there will be ordinarily three layers under the presser-t'oot to one under the holding-finger, the latter, if set for use on thin fabric, would, if thick fabric wereintroduced, be raised by the three layers under the presser-foot so high as not to clamp at all the single layer beneath, and if set for use on thin fabrics would prevent the presser-foot from clampingcthe work beneath. The adjustmentis most conveniently made by securing the holdingfinger to the presser-bar by means of a setscrew. The requisite adjustment could also be obtained by raising and lowering by suitable means the surface against which the holdingfinger acts. The adjustment could be made automatic by combining with the holding-finger a spring carried by the presser-foot.

In our aforesaid application of October 11, 1880, a self-adjusting holding-finger is shown; but in that case the holding-finger, being entirely independent of the presser-foot and presser-bar, is not so convenient as one connected therewith and adapted to be lifted at "the same time, as in the present invention.

The independent adjustable holding-finger can, it is obvious, be employed in connection with the other parts of the improved machine.

The accompanying drawings represent the principal parts of a sewing. and trimming machine embodying the invention.

Fignre'l is a plan view, showing the various parts in position on the cloth-plate of the machine; Fig. 2, a sectional view; Fig. 3,"a perspective view of the edge-guide detached, and Fig. 4 a view of the presser-foot and holdingfinger, Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view, illustrating the operation of the machine.

A is the cloth-plate; B, the trimming mechanism; O, the guide for the folded material; 1), the presser-foot, and E the holding-finger.

The trimming mechanism in itself forms no part of this invention, and may be of any ordinary or suitable construction. As shown, it embodies theimprovements set forth in our aforesaid application, and consists generally of a frame, a, fastened to the cloth-plate, a stationary cutter, 1), formed of a bar with the cutting-edge at one end, and a vibrating cutter, 0, attached to a rock-shaft which is operated by a connection into the main shaft of the machine. Both of said cutters are adjustable toward and away from the needle.

The edge-guide 0 consists of a bar which is held upon the cloth-plate by an arm, at, of the frame a, and is adjustable lengthwise by means of the lever e. In the middle of the bar is a slot,f, through which projects the tubeg from the arm 0?. .The tube limits the longitudinal and prevents lateral movement of the bar. A pin would answer the same purpose; but the tube having been before employed to facilitate the oiling of the main shaft, advantage is taken of it, so that an additional pin is not required. The adjustinglever e is held in place by the screw h, which engages in a threaded hole in the cloth-plate, and serves as the fulcrum for the lever.

On the under side of the lever is an eccentric boss, 6, that tits in a circular hole in the right hand or rear end of the guide 0, and when the lever is turned moves said guide endwise. A spring-washer, 7c, isfitted beneath the head of the screw h, and by its elastic pressure allows the lever c to be shifted, while furnishing sufficient friction to retain it'in whatever position it may be placed.

The guide 0 is provided at its front or lefthand end with a lateral extension, Z, that is made thicker. than the rest of the bar. The extra thickness extends into the line m. The

guiding-edge is provided with a notch, n, for

the passage of the needle, and from this notch outward toward the front of the machine is oblique to the line of feed, being inclined to the right, as shown. The presser-foot D is cut away to the right of the needle-hole, so as to allow the guide 0 and the vibratory cutter 0 to be adjusted close to the needle. A projection, '19, from the upper surface of the presser-foot partially surrounds the needle-hole and extends over the adjacent end of guide 0. It is located just behind the line m-that'is, behind the rear wall of the thick portion of the guide. The toe q of the presser-foot extends beyond the line we alongside of the thick portion of theguide,where theguiding-edge,owing to the increased thickness,is of greater depth than it is opposite the needle-hole. When the guide is in its most advanced position a space is left between it and the presser-foot for the passage of the fabric.

The holding-finger E is adjustable, so as to receive between itself and the clamping-surface against which it acts fabrics of different thickness. It is shown as fastened to the presser-bar by the aid of a set-screw, r, and arranged to clamp the fabric partly on the stationary cutter b and partly on the guide.

The operation of the machine to form a welt or hem is as follows: The guide Gand the cutters b 0 being adjusted at the proper distance from the needle, the fabric is folded at s to form a hem of the desired width and leave a small margin to be trimmed off, and is again folded at ton the line at which the hem is to be secured. It is then introduced beneath the presser-foot of the machine. The folded edge if is placed in contact with the edge-guide O, and the margin it extends over the topof the guide and under theprojectionp and holding-finger E. The presser-foot being lowered, the machine is started. The folded edge, by reason of the fabric from being caught by the needle above the Presser-foot. During the action of the cutters the margin is clamped and held stationary by the holding-finger; but the pressure of the latter is relieved during the advance of the feed, being lifted with the presser-foot by the action of the feed-bar.

Modifications may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention, and portions of the invention may be used without the others. pie, any known or suitable means of adjustment, such as an ordinary thumb or set screw, could be used instead of the levershown. The holding-fingermight be adjustably connected with the presser-footitself instead of with the presser-bar. Instead of or in addition to having the edge-guide of greater thickness opposite the toe of the pressbr-foot, a separator projecting horizontally in front of the presserfoot could be employed. The edge-guide might be attached to or made in one piece with the presser-foot instead of being attached to the cloth-plate, and various other changes and a1- terations which will readily suggest themselves could be made.

The machine shown embraces the invention in what is deemed the best modeot' carry ing the same into eli'ect.

Having now fully described our said invention, we would observe in conclusion that we do not claim herein the welt or hem with concealed stitch, nor the method of folding, sewing, and trimming a welt or hem irrespective of mechanical devices employ ed for guiding the welt or hem; but

What we do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. The combination,with a sewing and trim ming machine, of a' guide having its guidingedge between thelineof stitching and the line of trimming, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a sewing and trimming machine, of an adjustable edge-guide capable of adj 'ustment toward and away from the needle between it and the line of substantially as described.

3. An edge guide for sewing machines, notched for the passage of the needle, and havtrimming,

ing the guiding-edge in advance of the needle oblique to the line of feed, substantially as described.

For exam 4. .An edge-guide for sewing-machines, havin g the guiding-edge in advance of the needle oblique to the line of feed,in combination with a presser-foot cut away opposite the guidingedge to allow it to act in close proximity to the needle, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with the cutters of a sewing-machine trimmer and an edge-guide, of a presser-foot cut away to the right of the needle-hole to allow said cutters and guide to act in close proximity to the needle, substantially as described.

6. The combination of an adjustable edgeguide secured to the cloth-plate of a sewingmachine, with its guiding-edge in advance of the needle oblique to the line of feed, and a presser-foot cut away opposite the guidingedge of said guide to permit its adjustment close to the needle-hole, substantially as'described.

7. The combination of an edge-guide secured to the cloth-plate, a presser-foot, and a projection from the said foot extending laterally over said guide, substantially as descri bed.

8. The combination of the edge-guide, the presser-foot cut away to the right of the beedle-hole opposite the said guide, and theprojection of the presser-foot partly surrounding the needle-hole and extending laterally over said guide, substantially as described.

9. An edge-guide for attachmentto the cloth plate of a machine,having the guiding-edge of greater depth opposite the toe of the presserfoot than opposite the needle-hole, substantially as described.

10. A holding-finger adjustably connected with the presser-bar of a sewii1g-machine,substantially as described.

11. The combination of the cuttersof a sewing-machine trimmer, a holding-finger, presser-foot, and edge-guide, substantiallyas described.

12. The method of hemming or welting fabrics by folding the fabric, automatically guiding the folded fabric to sewing mechanism, and simultaneously sewing and. trimming the welt or hem, substantially as described.

13. In a sewing-machine, the combination, with means for guiding a fold of material to the stitch-forming mechanism,so that the needle will pass through the said fold, of a trimming mechanism for trimming 0d the edge of the surplus material extending beyond the fold simnltaneouslywith the sewing, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have signed. this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. I

STOCKTON BORTON. CHAS. H. WILLOOX. Witnesses:

PHILIP MAURO, C. J. HEDRIOK. 

